Travelog for: Grape Ape

Hello, my name is Grape Ape! I was recently given to my owner by her sister. Jessica (my owner's sister) said that she didn't think I was cute and that she wanted me to have a new home. Thank goodness Michele said that I could come live with her.  I don't want to know what would have happened to me had Michele not agreed to take me. 

I don't think my owner knew what she was in for when she adopted me. You see I have an addiction for all things Grape. Maybe this is why I have become a Toy Voyager...I don't think Michele can keep up with my grape addiction.

With that being said I'm looking for hosts who can help me complete my grape missions. Please PM my mentor if you would like to host me.

Not a whole lot has been going on here lately. The weather has been terrible! My mentor said she wanted to take us a couple of places but that she hasn't been able to because of the rain. We wanted to see for ourselves.  My mentor was right, it's raining outside. So to keep us busy we decided to watch some DVD's. We couldn't agree on one title so we were going to watch 3 different ones.

To our surprise a new TV arrived today! We couldn't wait to see who it could be....It turned out to be Willy Wau! We all welcomed him and told him to make himself at home here. We all have! 

Today we said goodbye to Cliff. He was moving on to his next host on the USA TVT.

Good Luck Cliff! Have a safe journey!

Today I decided that it was time for me to go on my Toy Voyaging journey. I'm heading to South Africa to visit with a host. I can't wait to see what South Africa has to offer.

I said goodbye to my new friends here. Everyone told me to be careful and to have a safe trip. I told them that I'll be alright.

South Africa here I come!

Hello, I'm here, hooray! That was quite a journey and it is lovely to be back on terra firma! Vicki actually fetched me from the P O Box yesterday afternoon and her children Juanita and Nicholas were so excited to see me. I am the first TV to visit with them and I arrived together with Emil. They were arguing about who would look after which one of us first!!



We also met Pearlz, she's Juanita's TV and is preparing for her journey to the USA! She's very excited.



The children showed us their drawings and paintings, wow! This is quite a collection. There I am with Emil, sitting between all the artwork.



We were introduced to Lulu, the little dog. She wanted to play but Juanita said she would look after us, thank goodness!



This is a wooden carving in Vicki's dining room. They call him Mugabe because he comes from Zimbabwe.



Juanita was holding us and showing us around their house, while proudly wearing her sash for winning the Miss Photogenic title at her school's pageant.




It gets really chilly here,the temp drops to 4C through the night! I will climb into Nicholas' slipper, no, it is not smelly! It's brand new!



All this excitement is exhausting, I think it is time for bed. We are cuddling up with Juanita tonight. Wow! This is a nice BIG bed! Nighty, night........sleep tight.....

Ooooh! It was so nice and warm in Juanita's bean bag that she warmed up for us!



Yay! Yummy grapes for breakfast! It is not really grape season here in South Africa but these are imported, I think. Vicki has to buy them for their parrot Percy, she said I can share with him. They are delicious Ruby seedles grapes. Vicki heard I loove everything grape!



And now for some hot chocolate, slurp!



They are making me work for my breakfast.  I had to help Juanita with her homework! Lucky I had done this stuff before so it was a breeze!



Now when it comes to the art, weeellll, I'll watch what she does...



When all the work was done, then came the fun! Nicholas was playing a cricket match at the club. It was Dads vs boys. What a game!! They had to explain the rules to me, a bit difficult to follow. There are two teams, one batting and one fielding. I offered to make some 'runs' for them.  I had to run from one wicket to the other. In the end the boys beat their Dads, Yaaay!!



What a day, the game took the whole afternoon and now I am exhausted. Too much fresh air, I'm sure! Where's that slipper Nicholas.....

Oooh! Juanita has cooked supper! Yum!



It looks delicious, it is Special macaroni cheese!

[

What! She asked if we could help with the washing up!! Vicki said she made the mess, she must tidy it!! Besides we're exhausted, it's been a mentally and physically exhausting day!

Wow! It sure has been chilly here and the children have kept me cuddled up and warm. Today we will be going to watch Nicholas play a soccer match at school!! Yay!
Later!
Lots of hugs...
Grape Ape. 

Hi there Mom! Vicki says she is sorry she hasn't updated more regularly but it has been a really hectic week and I have had a lot of fun! The children take good care of me, so here goes with what we have been up to!
On Monday and Tuesday it was very chilly so we just stayed cuddled up at home, watching videos but on Wednesday I went to school with Nicholas. He kept me safe in his pocket with my head sticking out so I could see where we were going. In the afternoon he played a soccer match against another school! It was sooo exciting and Vicki and I were shouting for Nicholas' team.



Nic's team won the match, with the score 3-1...



but it was a nailbiting game.



After the match we went home for lunch and Vicki made us tea (what NO grape juice?!), which we enjoyed with a traditional South African Koeksuster. They were delicious but so sweet!



It is a plait or knot of dough that is fried and then plunged into cold syrup, yummy but Vicki says she can't eat more that one.
After relaxing for  a bit, we popped in to visit Mrs C and all her teddies.



Can you see Emil and I here in the front? I have never seen so many bears together! MrsC is helping Threadbear to achieve his mission of giving 500 bears to the Teddybear clinic here in Johannesburg.



Here we are with Threadbear and his brother Buttons.



We also got to meet Pinky bear and Fiona. It was lovely to sit and chat with the ladies!! (Blush!) We had a grape, I mean great time together!! What an exciting visit, Vicki took some more bears to Mrs C, to add to the collection. There are about 160 bears on this couch! Imagine 500?! I think you had better build on another room Mrs C!!

On Thursday, I went to school with Vicki. She teaches Art and English at the same school that her children attend. Emil and I had such a good time with the children. The Grade 4 classes were building 3D models of themselves, they were having so much fun and we were too.



This one is by a boy named Kyle, he still has to finish it.



All the boys love soccer!



Whew! It was a crazy day. The children were very busy! Vicki took us home to relax with Juanita and Nicholas.
Today we are going to do some shopping and see some sights around the neighbourhood.
See you later!!
Lotsa love
Grape Ape.

Hey there! We have had a very busy day and here comes the update!

First we were off to the library to get some new books for Juanita, she's a real bookworm! Here is the 'library basket' with books to be returned.



Juanita was choosing new books and I was helping!





Then off to do some shopping at this awesome shopping centre called Cresta! There were so many people.



Nicholas and Juanita were holing us up so we could see the sights!



Everyone was wearing their Springbok rugby jerseys. That is the jersey of the national rugby team. There was a match against Wales in the afternoon. Here we are with Nicholas who was wearing his shirt too!



Then off to a book store...not ANOTHER book Juanita!!



Nicholas is a sports fanatic so he bought a cricket magazine!



After a bit more shopping, we headed home and Ken (Vicki's husband) took us for a spin on the Harley!! Wooohooo!!



What a ride!!



This is a photo of Emil and I at the water feature in the front garden.



And here is the back garden, pity the pool water is so cold! In the distance is Johannesburg city, we'll take a better photo in the midday sun.



Had some bouncing fun on the trampoline!!!



And here's another view of the back garden.


Ken made a barbeque, better know as a 'braai' here in S Africa. It is quite a tradition here. Especially after a rugby match that the Springboks won!!



Dinner is served and luckily there are lovely salads too. Coleslaw and Greek salad, yum!



Off to bed now, another busy day planned for tomorrow...
night, night! Love from ME.

Hi there...
Whew, things have been busy around here! And it is very chilly too!! On Sunday it was Father's Day here in SA and Vicki and the children treated Ken to lunch out in Pretoria or Tshwane as it is now known.
First we went to the 'Voortrekker Monument'....
http://www.voortrekkermon.org.za/index2.html



The children had never been to this monument commemorating the Voortrekkers, who were Dutch, French and German settlers. These settlers (or pilgrims) were not happy with the Cape government and from 1835 onwards decided to start trekking inland to get away from the British government. We took so many photos! There are beautiful bronze sculptures, can you see Emil and I?? This was a huge ox-wagon.



This was a beautiful bronze statue of a Voortrekker mother and her children.



We went to the top of the monument (about three stories high!!) and there is Pretoria in the background but it was a very hazy day. Wow! It sure is a long drop down there!



Here are the marble wall murals, they all tell a story.





This photo was taken from the very top looking down to where the cenotaph lies, way down. Luckily Vicki didn't need me to pose for this photo, whew!



This is the flame of civilisation in South Africa.



And this is a photo of the outside of the building.



Here is the canon called 'Grietjie'. It was taken on the trek for protection. Thank goodness it doesn't work anymore!! Juanita sat us on top here!



There are beautiful tapestries and paintings displayed in the museum. This one was a painting with embroidery over it.



There is a huge wall surrounding the monument and there are 64 ox-wagons like this one all around the wall. The gardens are also very pretty.



And we all posed for a photo in front of the monument. Vicki sure is crazy about taking photos.



We went into the gift and curio shop and Juanita and Nicholas showed us some other little animals like the springbok and the crocodile. They tried to convince Vicki to buy some more to make into TV's to travel the world but Vicki said that the two TV's they have (Potjie and Pearlz) are enough for now.



In between the beautifully decorated ostrich eggs.....



...and next to the miniature hand made Baobab trees, indigenous to Southern Africa.



After all that sight seeing, we had worked up a thirst so off to the Blue Crane restaurant and here I am with a nice cool drink! What? No grape juice???



The Blue Crane is the national bird of South Africa, it is really looks so regal.http://www.sa-venues.com/wildlife/birds_blue_crane.htm



Great Vicki! That's it, not too close now...



On the road again....



After a delicious lunch, we were off to visit the Union Buildings which is the official seat of government and one of the state residences. Pretoria is the administrative capital of South Africa.



What another canon? This one stands outside the Union Buildings and you can see Pretoria behind me.



This photo could be made into a postcard. What do you think Mom? Pretoria city is in the background.



We finally hit the road back home to Randburg. This is one of the squatter camps we passed on our way. It is called Nooitgedacht. There are so many immigrants (legal and illegal) streaming in from neighbouring countries. Some live in squatter camps like this one.



This is a view of Cosmo City and the Dome in the distance. Cosmo City is the low cost housing that is being built for previously disadvantaged people.



Here I am just outside the Dome. Overseas stars come here and hold concerts and exhibitions are held here too. Vicki said she would bring us back another day for a closer look. We are heading back home now after a busy day out.



Bye mom, missing you but having fun!

Hello again from me, way down south! It is always busy in this household but we are joining in the fun and getting along nicely. Today it is Friday and the children went to art lessons in the afternoon and Vicki got us McDonald's for supper, YUM!



And we all shared a huge chocolate.



Nicholas cuddled up with us in the blanket, it is really chilly here at night and in the early morning. It has been miserable and rainy too which according to Vicki is quite unusual. They don't have wet winters here in Gauteng.



This is their video/dvd collection and Nicholas was proud to show us his Playstation games too. I was allowed to pick a movie. We watched Hairspray, since Nicholas is acting in the school production of Hairspray next week. We get to go and watch, yippeee!



Oh, yes! I forgot to tell you about Percy! He is the parrot, who only likes Vicki. Anybody else will get a bite if they go near. He talks a lot and has a large vocabulary, only thing is he keeps singing 'It's raining, it's pouring...' even if the sun is shining outside! Silly bird! I have to share his grapes with him, he's crazy about grapes, like me!



I wanted to show you Juanita's and Nicholas' art. Remember the photo I sent you in the beginning of the'gallery'? Well here are photos of what they are working on at the moment. Juanita is busy with a drawing of herslf and Nicholas together, she is making it for Vicki and Nicholas has a collage of cameleons. They are both so good!



That's it for Friday, tomorrow's Saturday and another busy day ahead.

Love Grape Ape.

Hello again!
Here is the photo of Juanita's drawing. We forgot to put it in yesterday's update. Vicki has smudged the photo a bit for safety's sake. They both enjoy art very much.



Today we helped Vicki sew a costume for Nicholas. He is 'Edna' in the school play of 'Hairspray'. He really is very funny and has to wear a dress and a wig!! We have been rolling around with laughter!



Oooooh! This fabric is a bit bright and glitzy but that is what is required apparently. Vicki made a matching outfit for 'Edna's' daughter 'Tracy'.



We are going to school tomorrow to watch the Revue. Every grade has chosen a different musical. It sounds exciting. Here is Nic, cunningly disguised, in the dress we helped make! It has been a good laugh.



Hopefully the weather is a bit better tomorrow. It has been rainy and miserable and cold. Will update again soon, see ya!
Love Grape Ape.